RadioReference.com Forums

I live in the desert and wnat to be able to hear more Los Angeles stations. I have read just about all of the messages here and still don't know which is better. I want good performance on all bands including 800mhz. 800 is important to me. I have read mixed comments on the ST-2, the Diamond, a Ferret, and a Radio Shack thingy. It kind of sounds like the ST-2 is the better choice and a friend of mine has the Ferret and says it was a waste of money.

I saw an ad recommending an expensive amplifier with 23db and a discone or a Ferret for excellent performance and this didn't sound right. I asked my uncle, a ham operator, and he said that if you can't hear a signal to begin with you are only amplifying the noise. He said to get a good antenna to start with but doesn't know about scanner ones.

Now I am confused.